THE FERGIES, STELLA DONNELLY AND THE CAT EMPIRE at Woodford Folk Festival

When I was a young teenager, I used to frequently walk past a band that were busking in Queen Street Mall (in front of Strand Bags) and stopping to listen to their music. Their music was funky, it was full of the most incredible harmonies, high energy and toe-tapping beats that made you want to let your inner (and maybe in some cases outer) dance-tress out. And their Woodford set was no different. People were dancing in front of the stage, in their seats and in whatever place they could find. What made us dance was their infectious love on stage for what the band members were doing; their love for what they were playing and their love for each other and it showed in how much fun they were having.

The Fergies are five siblings, singing in five part harmony, playing an electrified set filled with from guitars, piano, drums to tambourines of original songs that they wrote off of both their albums. And they have the best time and so will you.

Stella Donnelly's roots are in Perth, but you couldn't tell from the way she handles the Brisbane crowd. She played music from her first EP Thrush Metal last year, as well as other originals she wrote during her time on and off tour with Alex the Astronaut, a crowd favourite being 'Boys Will Be Boys'.

What I loved about Stella's set is that each of her songs had a story, from strange family members to the grey area of sexual assault and that she shared those stories to us before she played the tune. But I couldn't describe Stella's voice, even if I tried to. You get lost in her voice the way you get lost in her stories. You fall headfirst into its velvet-like quality and once you fall, you don't want to get back up again. Which is why you go to the merch stand after her performance has finished and buy her CD...

Australian rock band The Cat Empire didn't fail to disappoint. The fusion of funk, ska, jazz and rock with Latin influences makes you dance the night away and shake at least one part of your body. Felix Riebel and Harry James Angus's voices fill up the entire amphitheatre as the band jam at the back. They played music from all of their albums, including tracks never heard before from their upcoming album to be released in February. I can't list one crowd favourite as they were all crowd favourites, and if that doesn't measure the sheer brilliance of a band then I don't know what does.

I remember turning to my friend in the crowd and said 'I love it when a band is a band' and I don't think there's a better way to describe Cat Empire then that. The versatility and skill of the band is extraordinary; the instruments compliment each other so beautifully and each band member is as important as the one on either side of them. No instrument gets left behind of unnoticed; each band member has not just one, but many moments to shine.

They played music from all of their albums, including tracks never heard before from their upcoming album to be released in February. I can't list one crowd favourite as they were all crowd favourites, and if that doesn't measure the sheer brilliance of a band then I don't know what does.

For upcoming show times and performances please visit: https://woodfordfolkfestival.com